This is the same area where Mr Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot, was kidnapped. It is on the route of the controversial Trans-Papua Highway, a road being built across the mountains which many Papuan nationalists believe is a threat to their identity and traditional way of life.
Why have separatists targeted Westerners?
Following Mr Mehrtens' kidnapping, a TPNPB spokesman said that it would now target "all foreigners: the US, EU, Australians and New Zealanders".